{"id":1320204,"date":"2020-05-26T15:40:55","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T21:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=996680"},"modified":"2020-05-26T15:40:55","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T21:40:55","slug":"bear-column-what-will-america-become-post-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/bear-column-what-will-america-become-post-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Bear column: What will America become post Covid-19?"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/ColBear-gpi-042820-1024x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/ColBear-gpi-042820-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/ColBear-gpi-042820-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/ColBear-gpi-042820-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/ColBear-gpi-042820-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/ColBear-gpi-042820-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/ColBear-gpi-042820-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>We\u2019re all heading down the rabbit hole together on this one.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone is wondering if we\u2019re through the worst of the pandemic, when our lives will return to \u201cnormal,\u201d and what \u201cnormal\u201d will look like when we get there.<\/p>\n<p>One thing is for certain: If we\u2019re going to get through this crisis, we\u2019re going to have to do it together, so we\u2019d better start liking each other.<\/p>\n<p>America has always rallied together during times like these. Remember how united we felt in the immediate aftermath of 9\/11? We were down, but we pulled together, determined not to let it defeat us.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row gspi-donation gspi-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>We were like the John Elway led Broncos late in the fourth quarter, one score down and 98 yards to go. \u201cWe got \u2019em right where we want \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But somehow it feels different this time.<\/p>\n<p>America is more divided that it has ever been. Everyone is pointing fingers at the other side, blaming our nation\u2019s problems on \u201cthem.\u201d Not surprisingly it\u2019s also an election year, and it\u2019s shaping up to be a contentious one.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve all seen various political memes on Facebook. They crush the other side in a succinct and satisfying way, and that appeals to Americans\u2019 competitive spirit.<\/p>\n<p>But the problem with these memes is that not only do they eliminate the need for critical thinking; they create division by promoting an \u201cus vs. them\u201d mentality, which, of course, is what they\u2019re designed to do.<\/p>\n<p>Are we really going to fall for that ploy again? Did we learn nothing from Russia\u2019s tampering in our 2016 election? Are we once again going to allow our choices to be influenced by a foreign entity?<\/p>\n<p>Another problem with political memes is that they play on liberal and conservative stereotypes.<\/p>\n<p>Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said \u201cthe problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, maybe in some ways we are what people think we are, but we also all have unique interests or talents that no one would guess about. I\u2019ve known people who self-identify as conservative who are staunch environmentalists. I\u2019ve also known people who self-identify as liberal who are avid hunters.<\/p>\n<p>Wouldn\u2019t it be nice if we could all learn to think for ourselves instead of having our opinions shaped by some meme, commercial, or talk show host?<\/p>\n<p>If there\u2019s one thing I can\u2019t stand, it\u2019s hearing someone parrot the talking points of some media personality, who by the way is paid very well to espouse those opinions.<\/p>\n<p>Talking points are shortcuts to actual thinking. You can simply repeat them and sound smart, even if you have no idea what you\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n<p>People also tend to identify with the platform of whatever political party they identify with. So, for instance, if you\u2019re a Republican, you know you should be pro-life; if you\u2019re a Democrat you know you should be pro-choice.<\/p>\n<p>Ask yourself: If I had never heard about the Republican or Democratic parties, how would I feel about this issue? Maybe you\u2019d feel differently; maybe not. I\u2019d be willing to bet, though, that you wouldn\u2019t see the issue as black and white as you do now.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not a Democrat or Republican, because I think that anyone who bases their opinions solely on the platform of some political party is a lazy thinker, and lazy thinking is helping to create the division in our nation.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m probably also the most apolitical person you\u2019ll ever meet. In fact I hate politics, mostly because it\u2019s full of\u2026 well\u2026 politicians.<\/p>\n<p>We can\u2019t trust our \u201cleaders\u201d in Washington because it\u2019s obvious they are for sale to the highest bidder. You can almost see the strings being manipulated by their large campaign donors when they speak.<\/p>\n<p>These \u201cleaders\u201d are currently accusing each other of politicizing the novel coronavirus crisis, and by doing so they are doing exactly that. The worst part is, they\u2019ve failed at the one job we hired them to do \u2014 represent us.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re on our own now. It\u2019s up to us to define what America will become post Covid-19.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m a lifelong Broncos fan, and I enjoy sitting at a bar with a beer and watching the game with other Broncos fans. Over the years I\u2019ve had many conversations with other fans who sat down next to me. I don\u2019t know what their politics are. In fact I couldn\u2019t care less. For the duration of that game at least, we\u2019re comrades.<\/p>\n<p>What if we stopped listening to all the noise? What if instead of pointing fingers at each other we identify common interests, and then build on those until they become common goals?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s late in the fourth quarter, we\u2019re down one score with 98 yards to go. What are we going to do?<\/p>\n<p><em>Jeff Bear is a reporter and copy editor for the Glenwood Springs Post Independent. You may reach him at <a href=\"mailto:jbear@postindependent.com\">jbear@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/opinion\/bear-column-what-will-america-become-post-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re all heading down the rabbit hole together on this one. Everyone is wondering if we\u2019re through the worst of the pandemic, when our lives will return to \u201cnormal,\u201d and what \u201cnormal\u201d will look like when we get there. One thing is for certain: If we\u2019re going to get through this crisis, we\u2019re going to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1320204","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-28 19:09:45","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1320204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1320204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1320204\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1320204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1320204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1320204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}